How to Find Unlimited Power

We all have parts of our life that we would like to change. There are parts of our personality or the way we look that we desire to be different. Perhaps you would like more wealth in your life, and to attain it by doing your dream job. Or maybe you would love the power to change some difficult people or circumstances in your life.

As I began to reflect on this, I thought of the movie “The Wizard of Oz.” It’s one of my favorite movies, and I’ve seen it countless times. In the film, Dorothy is in the wonderful land of Oz. However, she has this unending desire to return home to her farm in Kansas. She is given direction on how she can get home and goes through some difficult and even life-threatening steps to make it happen. After all that she goes through, she is told by Glenda the good witch that she had had the power to get home all along, courtesy of the ruby slippers she was wearing.

Imagine that. She almost had herself and others killed as she persisted in her desire to get back home (not a bad desire in any way), and it was all unnecessary. She had the power all along that would have gotten her there, but she didn’t know it. Can I be Glenda for you today? If you are seeking the power for a more satisfying life, for more money, more energy, positivity, joy, romance, or whatever it is l can tell you that you already have the power to make it happen.

Now as you look down and realize you’re not wearing ruby slippers, you may be wondering where that power is. Please allow me to share some quotes with you, and then I will bring it all together. Luke 17:22 says “the kingdom of God is in your midst.”The amplified version of the same verse says, “the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you].” The kingdom of God consists of God, His spirit, and all of His power. I studied the word midst closer, and the definition says in the middle of or the core of. When Jesus says that the kingdom is in your midst, I believe that according to that definition, He is saying that it is the core of who you are, your very essence. I Corinthians 2:16 says that we have the mind of Christ. I love how the expanded version says it… “But we have the mind of Christ [the Holy Spirit reveals God and his ways to us; Rom. 11:34].” I find it humbling and amazing that we have access to God and His ways! His power and knowledge goes along with that.

To put this in more simple and worldly terms, I share a quote from mind expert Joseph Murphy and his book “The Power of Your Subconscious Mind”. “Within your subconscious depths lie infinite wisdom, infinite power, and infinite supply of all that is necessary which is waiting for development and expression. Begin now to recognize these potentialities in your deeper mind, and they will take form in the world without.” He then continues… “The infinite intelligence within your subconscious mind can reveal to you anything you need to know at any moment of time and point provided you are open-minded and receptive.” (p. 13)

Some believe the mind of Christ mentioned in the Bible is synonymous with the subconscious mind. Others would say the subconscious is the bridge from our own mind to the Christ mind. Regardless, we all have it. Now I know some of you may be finding my title a bit misleading. Hey Joe, you said you were going to show us how to find unlimited power. Ok, I get it. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down. Do you want to know how to find unlimited power? Here’s my simple answer. Know that you already have it. The verses above show that the kingdom of God is in every one of us, and so is the mind of Christ. WE ALL HAVE IT!! The key is to know this and begin to utilize it. There are so many people in the world today who feel powerless. I’ve been there myself too. However, I have learned that no one on this planet can say they are powerless. Every person has the same amount of power. No more, no less. The most successful people are the ones that tap into that power and use it for good.

The good news is you can immediately begin using this amazing power you have. Know that you have it, and know that God is with you at every second. Another key to tapping into this power is by using your conscious thinking mind to feed the subconscious. I have shared in other articles how to use visualization and positive affirmations to embed powerful truths into the subconscious. Once they are embedded in the subconscious they become beliefs. Once they become beliefs, they are acted out and become circumstances. The more positive the beliefs are, the more positive the circumstances are.

Once again I will remind you. You have incredible, unlimited power available to you right now. Use it well, and your life will be full of abundance, joy, and love. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

How to Have Perfect Peace

Inner peace is something we as humans are always seeking, especially in the midst of our turbulent world. As I was doing my morning Bible study this morning, I came upon a verse that is the ultimate guide if you are having difficulty finding that peace for yourself.

Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.” I especially like the Passion translation which says, “Perfect, absolute peace surrounds those whose imaginations are consumed with you; they confidently trust in you.” Notice the verses don’t say some peace. They don’t say a little peace. They say perfect peace, absolute peace. What’s the magic formula? Simply focusing your thoughts primarily on God and His kingdom and not on this earthly kingdom. In fact, another verse says, “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” or a more detailed version, “Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.”(Colossians 3:2).

I have learned over the past few years that the heavenly realm and heavenly realities are the real realities. That’s hard to believe because we can’t experience it with our earthly senses. For most people, reality is what they can see in front of them and experience with the senses. However, I can tell you from experience that the more you focus on the heavenly reality, the more it becomes your earthly reality. Do you desire to change your earthly circumstances? Then focus on the heavenly one. I can tell you from experience that when you focus your thoughts on the things of heaven and the truth about what God knows and says about you, you will experience many blessings in your earthly life.

I can also tell you from experience that it is not always easy to avoid focusing on what is going on around you. Life happens, and it is often difficult. I have found that the key is to deliberately set aside times during the day to take a time out and focus on God and His presence. Even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time, it can do wonders in changing your mental focus and bringing you more towards God’s truth instead of the negative circumstances around you. As you do this more, it tends to have a snowball effect. That small snowball gradually gains momentum and grows into a giant mass of positivity and peace. When you truly focus and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, you experience true and awesome peace because it is a direct manifestation of God. It is almost automatic because God IS peace. God IS love. He IS joy and every other positive emotion. When you connect to Him you are connecting with those positive emotions that eventually overtake your being if you can keep your focus there long enough.

We all need peace in today’s crazy world. Fill your mind and imagination with thoughts of God and His wonderful truth and promises, and peace will be automatic for you. And not just any peace, but perfect and absolute peace. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

 

Keep Me In The Moment

Singing oh Lord, keep me in the moment
Help me live with my eyes wide open
‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what you have for me.

These are lyrics from the latest Jeremy Camp song. They serve as an excellent reminder for me to focus on this moment. I often speak about the importance of living in the present moment. It is the only moment where we have full control of our state of mind and emotions. And remember, it is the quality of that state of mind and emotional level that controls the quality of our lives.

People always ask… is it ok to even think about the past? I would answer yes. It is good to think about the past if we are either re-living a positive memory or even using a negative situation as something to learn from and build upon. However, when we do that, we are doing it in the present moment. It is not good to think about the past if we are longing to go back to “the good old days” instead of living in the now. Or it is not good to dwell on the negatives in the past and feel angry or guilty about them and allowing those thoughts to affect your current emotional state in a bad way.

Is it ok to think about the future? Again, I would answer yes. I believe it is sometimes necessary to think about the future because it is valuable to use as a planning tool and for getting a solid picture and goal in your mind for what you want your life to be like. Once again though, you are actually doing that in the present moment. It is not good to think about the future as a way to escape your negative situations you may have today, or to fill your mind with worrisome thoughts about what bad things can possibly happen. Why would you negatively affect your present moment with thoughts of something that hasn’t even happened yet? I know it’s easier said than done, and I would be rather hypocritical if I didn’t admit that I’ve done it myself. In fact, I’ve been quite good at it for most of my life. However, I’ve learned that most of the situations I worried about never actually occurred, and more importantly that the quality of my thoughts and feelings on the inside now, at this moment, determines the quality of my life on the outside now and in the future.

The great news is that we have full control of our thoughts and feelings. And when we do have that control fully? In the present moment. Think about it. At this very moment, as you are reading this, what negative thing is happening? Ok, I guess I shouldn’t set myself up like that. Perhaps the negative thing is you think this article is horrible. Let’s step back from that and assume you’re enjoying the article. Seriously, unless something life-threatening is coming at you right now, if you focus solely on this moment right now, there is nothing negative about it unless you place your thoughts on it. That is true for any moment. There is nothing negative about the present moment unless you believe there is. Knowing this and the fact that you are the only one who can control what enters your mind and heart, I challenge you to pray this prayer to God. Ask for His help in keeping you in the moment. It is a glorious place to be, mainly because God helps keep your eyes wide open and ensures that you don’t miss the opportunities and blessings He has for you.

Prayer is one way that I anchor myself to the present moment. Simply meditating on the presence of God is an amazing way to feel the peace of the moment. Visualization is another way. I realize that we are often imagining future events when we visualize, but the key is to picture them as they are happening right now. When you remain aware of the present moment upon visualizing, it makes the process extra powerful. There are other ways to remain in the moment too, such as immersing in nature, listening to music, taking a warm bath, dancing, and many others. I would suggest you do what works best for you and adds the most joy to the experience.

As I live more in the present moment, I have a greater longing to remain there. Hanging on to the guilt of the past just isn’t attractive to me anymore. Worrying about the future is not worth it to me. I share this with you in the hope that you will join me in this peaceful, joyous place called the present moment. There is no better place to be. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

A Highly Effective Way to Remove Fears

I read something the other day that said of all things humans fear, only two fears are natural. One is the fear of falling. The other is the sound of a loud, sudden noise. I’m thinking fear of a threat to our life would go hand in hand with that. All other fears are unnatural. I focused on the validity of this statement for a few moments. The more I thought about it, the more I realized its truth. All other fears besides those that I have or you do are created by ourselves. Whether it’s a fear involving insects, people, or circumstances, I realize that any fear I have is not something I was born with and a natural part of my being. The fears were caused by my own thoughts, even if circumstances or other people caused me to think those thoughts.

The bad news is that we humans create many unnatural and unnecessary fears for ourselves. The badder news is that we allow those fears to prevent us from living life at its best, and from allowing God to use us to accomplish His will. The good news is that we are in full control. We are the ones that allowed those fears to build up in our minds, yet we are the ones that could permanently remove them and stop them from holding us back.

Some of you may be thinking that this process is easier said than done. From my own personal experience, I can tell you that is true. As much as I share about the power of the mind and liberating its life-giving powers, I still stubbornly allow fears to remain lodged in my mind more times than I care to admit. However, I have learned over time that I can deal with those fears in a two-step process: 1. acknowledge the fear instead of fighting it. 2. remove the fear and its negative effects.

So if it’s easier said than done to remove the fears, how do you ultimately do it? I’ve learned a very effective process called desensitization. I’ve been using this process since I was a teenager. It’s a complicated word, but an easy concept. To explain the process, I’m going to embarrass myself a bit with a story of how I found this process. As a child, I was never afraid of the dark, the boogeyman, monsters coming out of my closet, or any of those fears that often haunt children. I wasn’t impacted by scary movies at the time either. However, I read a book that scared me like never before. The book was called “The Amityville Horror.” The basic story is that a real-life mass-murder took place in the house. The truth of what happens afterward is disputed, but in the story, a new family moves in and is overtaken by evil spirits in the house. I found this very unnerving. Besides my proximity to Amityville (I grew up living 15 minutes from there), the spiritual concept of it seriously scared me. Now, after never being afraid of anything as a young child, at 14, I was all of a sudden petrified walking into a dark room, and that my room would be infested with evil spirits. I also dreaded waking up at 3:15 am, the time the murder occurred, and all of the bad things in the story happen.

I was embarrassed to be afraid of the dark at 14 years old. I had to do something about it, and I certainly couldn’t let anyone else know I had these childish fears (you reading this may be the first to know 🙂 ) During that summer, I was reading a self-hypnosis book that my father had. It talked about using hypnosis to desensitize ourselves of our fears. What does desensitize mean? It means to imagine yourself doing the things you are afraid of. Consistently see yourself doing those things with nothing negative happening. For my situation, I first hypnotized myself as I often did for other things even at that young age. I then visualized myself going into the dark with nothing bad happening. I reminded myself how I had been in dark rooms countless times before and had never had any reason to fear. I saw myself laying on my bed, alone in my room. Instead of evil spirits haunting me, I focused instead of how God’s presence filled the room. I saw myself waking up at 3:15 with nothing bad happening. I played this over and over in my mind until I actually believed that nothing bad would happen while being in the dark or waking up at that dreaded time. Within a week, I was cured of this fear that I had had for several weeks previous to that.

There have been numerous other fears that I have been able to cure in the same manner. I share this with you and anyone else struggling with unnatural fears. This method to remove fears works effectively. It worked for me and will work for you. The process is easy. The first thing to do is to get into a very relaxed state. Your subconscious mind (where the fear lives and needs to be removed from) is most receptive to new ideas when you are in this deeply relaxed state. I mentioned that I used self-hypnosis. Here is the process I use for self-hypnosis. You can use this or use something I often use called binaural beats. These are brainwave sounds to bring your mind to a theta or hypnotic state. You can find plenty of these on Youtube (here is the one I use) or on various phone apps. Or you can use meditation or whatever way you use most effectively to relax. Then, whatever your fear is, visualize yourself in the middle of it, and while you are there, see that the fear is not even close to being realized. For example, if you are afraid to speak in front of people, see yourself speaking in front of a large crowd. Instead of bad things happening, see the people listening attentively to what you have to say. Hear them applauding you. If you are afraid of traveling on an airplane, see yourself enjoying the comfortable flight and arriving safely at your destination. These are just a few examples. You can use this desensitization method to remove any fear, no matter how big or small it may be.

I read another message recently that says that the way to conquer your fears is to do what you fear. In essence, you are doing that with this process. The subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real or imagined event. It takes this mentally visualized event as real as if it were actually happening. Of course, if you have the opportunity to follow the above advice and actually, physically do what you fear then take that opportunity. This combination of mental visualization and physical action will remove the fear quickly. My story above proves that. Some fears may take a bit longer to disappear, especially if they deeply embedded in the subconscious. However, if you stick with this process, they will gradually be removed.

You don’t have to live with unnatural, unnecessary fear. Use this simple method to remove those fears. Then see how free you are to live out your dreams and accomplish God’s will for your life. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

Two Words That Bring True Happiness

One thing so many people crave in life is happiness. People are looking for the magic pill to take or whatever formula they can use to bring more of it (or any of it for some people) into their lives.

As I was doing some reading today, I found a very simple process that can add much happiness to your life. I know it’s true because the times I’ve followed this guideline in my own life I can honestly say have been the happiest times in my life.

It comes from Proverbs 16:20 which says, “Whoever pays attention to what he is taught will succeed. And whoever trusts the Lord will be happy.” It’s the second part of this verse that caught my attention, and that I want to share with you here. Whoever trusts in the Lord will be happy. That’s it! One of the great keys to happiness is simply trusting in the Lord.

Now, I know from experience that many times it is not easy to trust in the Lord. If we can’t see it or believe it yet, it is very difficult to have faith and trust that everything is going to be ok. I get that, and I still have times in my life, after all I’ve been learned about what I share here, that I still struggle to follow this advice myself. However, when we learn to “let go and let God”, and trust that “all things work our for our good” (Romans 8:28), that is when we experience true happiness.

Several years ago I went through a major trust experience. I was working as a teacher, but the job was temporary. It ended at the end of the school year, but there was a chance that I could earn a permanent position at that school, with the increase in pay and job security that went with it. At the same time, my family and I were presented with the opportunity to buy our dream house. It was a very optimistic time. I felt like I had earned the right to that secure job at the school, and couldn’t wait to finally bring our family to the beautiful house. All was good until I received the letter from the school saying they were not bringing me back. That was crushing in itself, but now, as the primary income earner of my family, I would be out of a job as of September. That would not look good in the middle of applying for a mortgage for a house that would already be a strain on our finances. I was so afraid that they would cancel the application and deny us the mortgage. I didn’t say anything to the mortgage company. I had worked for that company for several years before becoming a teacher and even worked there still at that time as a part-time assistant. I wasn’t going to say anything to them about this. I wasn’t hiding anything because I was confident I would have another job by September, and they go through a verification process so they would eventually find out what they need to know and make any necessary determinations. However, for a couple of weeks, I really stressed over this situation. Then one day I just felt God speaking to me. I felt like I was being told to let it go, and put the situation in His hands. I could almost hear Him saying, “trust me.” All of a sudden, the burden of stress completely lifted. Instead of fear, I had a sincere trust that this was in God’s hands, and things would work out best for my family and me. I not only felt more peace but also carried a feeling of joy. God had spoken to me and assured me that all was good. Who better to trust than the creator of the entire universe? As it turns out, the company never even questioned me about the job situation. The mortgage was approved easily, and we were in our new house a few weeks later. And yes, by mid-August I had a new teaching job as well 🙂

Although this is one of the major examples in my life, there have been many others where God has proven to me that I can put my full trust in Him. And when I do, I am most happy in my life. I share this with you because if you are looking for true happiness in your life, the most simple way to achieve it is by trusting God and knowing that “if He can hold the whole world in His hands, He can hold this moment” (Jason Gray from his song “Sparrows”). He can hold any moment, any situation, and any problem, with the power to bring good to it.

Remember, whoever trusts the Lord will be happy. Other versions of the verse say that besides happiness, trusting in the Lord can bring blessings and prosperity as well. The Amplified Bible version says, “Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is he who trusts [confidently] in the Lord.” I will say again that sometimes (ok, many times) it is not easy to trust in the Lord. However, the more you do, the more your faith grows and you realize that He has only your best interests in mind, and He is there for you all the time to help you live well.

You do not have to rely on external things to make you happy. The God of the universe dwells in your midst. He is right there for you all the time. Trust Him in every situation, and you will experience a happiness that you never have before. Enjoy the blessings 🙂

Using the Heart For Manifestation

The heart is one of the most powerful parts of the body. Most would obviously associate it with keeping the blood circulating in the body. After all, when the heart stops working, so does our body. People also associate the heart with our feelings, especially that of love. In some respects, you can relate the heart with manifesting desires because our feelings help with rapid manifestation. However, I would say that manifestation of our goals and desires is most often connected with thoughts that come from the mind, not the heart. However, I present a question to you. Are heart and mind actually connected in some way?

I read a very interesting article the other day that shows a connection between heart and mind. It is titled “Your Heart is Your Subconscious Mind.” I highly recommend checking it out. The main idea of the article is that the ideas of the heart, especially those used in the Bible, are referring to the subconscious mind. In essence, the heart and subconscious are one and the same. As I’ve mentioned on this site many times, the subconscious is the part of your mind that controls your beliefs. Your beliefs ultimately control your actions, which ultimately control your results. If you want to change your results, you need to change the beliefs you have in your subconscious.

Let’s discuss this further. In the article, the author says there are over 5,000 scriptures that reference the heart. He suggests substituting the word heart for subconscious mind. I tried this and found it very powerful. Here are some examples. Proverbs 23:7 says “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Isn’t it true that as a man thinks in his subconscious mind so is he? Remember, that is where man’s deepest beliefs are, and those beliefs are ultimately who he becomes. If he believes he is or even can be successful, he will be. If he thinks he is poor or a loser, that’s how his life will turn out. Let’s try some more. One I’ve shared about lately is from Proverbs 4:23. It says to “guard your heart (subconscious mind) above all else, for it determines your life.” The idea I’ve presented several times already can’t get more clear than that. The quality of your subconscious mind determines the quality of your life. Make sure you guard your mind diligently, only allowing the thoughts that will enhance that quality you desire in your life.

You may have heard the verse “create in me a clean heart” from Psalm 51. David prayed this after committing a major sin. It would make sense that he is asking God to clean out of his subconscious mind all unclean thoughts, so he won’t act on them and sin again. Mark 11:23 is a powerful verse about faith… “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart (subconscious mind) but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” In other words, if you believe something to be true in your subconscious mind, it will be true in manifested form in your life. One more I will reference is Proverbs 3:5… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart(subconscious mind); do not depend on your own understanding.” When the assurance of God’s presence, peace, and love are embedded in your mind and held as a firm belief, you live your life accordingly and experience great joy, love, and success as He “makes your paths straight” as noted in the next verse. There are plenty of other excellent verses you can make this substitution with. Here are 100 Bible verses about the heart.

Hopefully, you can see that this connection with the heart and subconscious mind makes total sense. How can you use this information to manifest your desires? Your main task is to make sure your heart (subconscious mind) is right. Guard it diligently. Only allow thoughts that will embed ideas of success, joy, positivity, peace, and whatever you are seeking in life to live deep in your subconscious. When thoughts and beliefs are held there, the corresponding manifestations are automatic, and often effortless. You do need to take action, but those actions are also automatic and natural, and you will barely feel like you are doing any work if your faith is strong enough. There are several ways you can plant positive and empowering thoughts in the garden of your subconscious mind. The ones I have used successfully are visualization, positive affirmations, and hypnosis. I will provide links to how you can use those methods below.

5 Step Visualization Process

How to Make Your Affirmations Believable

The Power of Hypnosis…And What It Can Do For You

I was really challenged by the article I shared with you. Indeed, I believe you can make references to the heart synonymous with the subconscious mind. When you have a belief (whether it’s positive or negative) in your subconscious mind, it always manifests in your outer world. You have full control of what’s allowed to enter your heart. Let it be filled with thoughts of how great life would be if you had those things, and feel the corresponding emotions. I know you will see them in your life sooner than later. Enjoy the blessings 🙂